January 13, 2014

Rookie of the Year: Don Woods, 1974

Halfback, San
Diego Chargers

Age: 23

College: New
Mexico

Height: 6’1” Weight: 210

Prelude:

A quarterback
in college, Woods was chosen by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round of the
1974 NFL draft. The Packers converted him into a running back, and while he
showed promise, Woods was cut at the end of the preseason. He was claimed by
the Chargers and saw his first action in the third week of the season, with
stunning results.

1974 Season Summary

Appeared in 12
of 14 games

[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Rushing

Attempts – 227
[7]

Most
attempts, game - 27 (for 117 yds.) at Oakland 11/17

Yards – 1162 [2]

Most yards,
game – 157 yards (on 18 carries) vs. Miami 9/29

Average gain
– 5.1 [2]

TDs – 7 [8,
tied with Mack Herron & Calvin Hill]

100-yard rushing
games – 7

Pass
Receiving

Receptions – 26

Most
receptions, game – 5 (for 66 yds.) vs. Chicago 12/8

Yards – 349

Most yards,
game - 119 (on 3 catches) vs. Cleveland 11/3

Average gain
– 13.4

TDs – 3

100-yard
receiving games – 1

Kickoff
Returns

Returns – 3

Yards – 61

Average per
return – 20.3

TDs – 0

All-Purpose
yards – 1572 [6]

Passing

Attempts – 3

Completions –
1

Yards – 28

TDs – 1

INT – 1

Scoring

TDs – 10 [7,
tied with Isaac Curtis & Jon Keyworth]

Points – 60

Awards & Honors:

NFL Offensive
Rookie of the Year: AP, PFWA

AFC Rookie of
the Year: UPI, NEA, Sporting News

Chargers went
5-9 to finish fourth in the AFC West.

Aftermath:

The
outstanding rookie season proved to be the best of Woods’ career. A knee injury
that required surgery limited him to five games in 1975, in which he rushed for
just 317 yards with a 3.6-yard average gain and caught 13 passes. While he
lasted for another five years in the NFL, Woods never again gained more than
514 yards rushing in a season while twice catching 34 passes. He was dealt to
the 49ers during the 1980 season, his last. Overall, Woods ended up with 3087
rushing yards on 763 carries, averaging 4.0 yards, caught 145 passes for 1358
yards, and scored a total of 21 touchdowns.

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were named Rookie
of the Year in the NFL, AFL (1960-69), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized
organization (Associated Press – Offense or Defense, Newspaper Enterprise
Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, or the league
itself – Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year).